Despite much ballyhooing about transparency (there’s even a “Transparency Initiative“!), sometimes it appears the European Union really loves a good secret.

So it was with three letters that Porsche AG sent to the European Commission in 2006 or 2007. The letters were addressed to then-Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen, a German who was widely viewed as the car makers’ best friend in Brussels. They apparently concerned Porsche’s views on an EU rule to cap carbon-dioxide emissions in cars. It was vigorously fought at the time, and, after lobbying from car companies, eventually watered down.

European Commission

Günter Verheugen, with a BMW.

An environmental activist group, Friends of the Earth Europe, which has taken on the role of corporate-lobby watchdog, wanted to know what was in them. It sent a request in March 2007 under the commission’s access-to-documents principle, but was turned down.

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Then it went to the European Ombudsman, which in October 2008 told the commission it should release the letters. According to a report released today by the Ombudsman, the commission asked (and got) no fewer than six extensions to a deadline to respond. Once, the commission said it was notifying Porsche about the possibility of the documents’ being released, but that it needed more time to get its letter to Porsche translated. (Given that Mr. Verheugen’s mother tongue is German, one wonders why….)

Last month, still with no letters and no answer from the commission, the Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, threw up his hands. “The Commission’s attitude is detrimental not only to inter-institutional dialogue, but also to the public image of the EU,” he wrote in the report. “The Commission’s uncooperative attitude in this regard risks eroding citizens’ trust in the Commission and undermining the capacity of the European Ombudsman and the European Parliament adequately and effectively to supervise the Commission. As such, it runs counter to the very principle of the rule of law, on which the Union is, inter alia, founded.”

But Friends of the Earth may get its letters. A portion of them, at least. Eventually.

Today, a commission spokesman, Michael Mann, said the commission had decided to “partially release” the letters. On Feb. 18, he said, the commission informed Porsche of its intent. Under EU rules, Porsche has 10 days from when it received the notification to seek a court injunction to block the letters’ release. “We’re not entirely sure when that period ends,” Mr. Mann said.

As for the year-plus delay, that was a “result of attempting to balance different interests,” he said. But “perhaps we’ve been a little overcautious.”

A Porsche spokesman couldn’t immediately comment.

UPDATE: A Porsche spokesman said the company was open to releasing the letters, if “competitive issues” are redacted. He said the letters “explained our situation as a premium manufacturer,” adding that commissioners “want to hear what our positions are.”

UPDATE 2 (March 5, 2009): Friday, Mr. Mann of the European Commission said that Porsche had agreed to release redacted letters. Score one for the ombudsman.

About Real Time Brussels

The Wall Street Journal’s Brussels blog is produced by the Brussels bureau of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. The bureau has been headed since 2009 by Stephen Fidler, who was previously a correspondent and editor for the Financial Times and Reuters. Also posting regularly: Matthew Dalton, Viktoria Dendrinou, Tom Fairless, Naftali Bendavid, Laurence Norman, Gabriele Steinhauser and Valentina Pop.